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some time exceedingly perilous. The vessel neared us more than once, and seemed to threaten to involve us in its own destruction. The cargo, consisting chiefly of hams, cheeses, ale, porter, spirits, and other things equally combustible, burned with violence and rapidity, and the flames rose to an amazing height.
We succeeded in encreasing the distance between us and the vessel; directing our course towards land, by help of the compasses, which we could see by the light of the candles we had with us. About ten o’clock, we saw the masts go overboard, and the sides of the vessel seemed to be burnt down to the water’s edge. The spectacle was awfully grand, even contemplated abstractedly from a recollection of our own circumstances. The destruction, by fire, of the animals on board, dogs, sheep, &c., at another time would have excited our deepest commisseration, but, at present, the total loss of property, the awfully sudden death of the seamen, our own narrow escape, and the great probabilities, even yet, that we should never again see the light of day, or set our feet on solid ground, seemed to absord our faculties and feelings: for some time the silence was scarcely broken, and I doubt not, that many, like myself, were engaged in thoughts most suitable to immortal beings
